1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of accessories that are mounted onto an all terrain vehicle (ATV), and more particularly to multipurpose carrier accessories that are readily mounted to factory installed or pre-existing carrier rack assemblies.
2. State of the Art
All terrain vehicles (ATVs) are popular as a mode of transportation, particularly for various types of off-road activities. Typically, an ATV is equipped with a factory installed (or other pre-existing) carrier rack. The carrier rack generally consists of a plurality of tubular members that are mounted to the frame of the ATV. The tubular members are arranged to form a horizontal support area and spaced apart in a manner that allows various items such as tents, guns, fishing poles, tackle boxes, other field equipment, to be removably attached thereto using rope, bungee cords and the like.
The rugged nature of the ATVs has also made it popular as a utility vehicle. For such purposes, it is cumbersome to repeatably lash items to the factory-installed carrier racks. Thus, it has become popular to mount accessory extension racks onto such factory-installed carrier racks. The extension racks provide a flat storage bed that is useful for carrying diverse items and animals, such as containers, bags, gear, tools, dogs, etc. An example of such an extension rack is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,728 to Savant.
It is also known to mount a spreader accessory to the top of an ATV carrier rack. For example, an ATV-mounted spreader accessory known as the “Bumper-Buddy” is sold commercially. It includes a conical hopper (20-gallon/50-lb. capacity) that is mounted behind and above the ATV rear rack by bolt mount clamps. A spreader mechanism that includes an aluminum flow control valve, spinner plate and motor are supported underneath the conical hopper. The spreader accessory provides for distribution of large quantities of seed, corn, granulated salt and other dry pellet material.
While the Bubby-Buddy spreader is useful, it suffers from several drawbacks. For example, because the spreader accessory is mounted on the ATV rear rack, an extension rack cannot also be mounted onto the rear rack due to interference between the two accessories. In the event that a user desires the functionality provided by both of these accessories, the user must independently demount and alternatively mount the respective accessories onto the ATV rear rack, which is cumbersome and time consuming. In addition, because the Bumper Buddy spreader is mounted above the ATV rear rack, it significantly obstructs rear vision, obstructs normal access and use of the rear rack, and also undesirably moves the center of gravity of the ATV so that the ATV is more prone to roll-over.